Fiction: Scene from the Movie "How Trump Won".

TV Rating: For Mature Audiences.  PG 13, for Violence and Language

Yesterday's guest post asked me to imagine myself a delegate at a national convention.  I am making plans to be one.  He asked me to imagine being a delegate who favored someone other than Trump. The delegates chosen from Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota and some from a great many other states, some of which Trump won, are unbound and free to cast their vote for whomever they want, and they intend to vote for Kasich or Cruz, not Trump.

What would the art of the New York deal look like?   

SCREENPLAY:  "How Trump Won"

The part of Peter Sage, unbound delegate supporting "anyone but Trump" is played by George Clooney.   The parts of the three unnamed visitors are played by large, muscular, menacing men, dressed in navy blue blazers, wearing dark glasses.  

The kinds of actors playing the visitors

SAGE is in a Hilton type hotel room and walks to the door to answer a door buzzer.  It is night, he was watching TV, he is barefoot in shorts and tee shirt:    "Hello?"

Three men standing at the door.   Man in the middle speaks.  ONE:  "Security, Mr. Sage.  May we come in?"

SAGE, surprised:   "Uh, OK, Security?  Sure."

The three men enter.   ONE, addressing a partner: "Check for transmitters."  Turning to Sage he says, "We are checking things out.  Can I see your phone, Mr. Sage?"  Noticing a phone on the desk he looks at it and nods.   Without hesitation TWO began walking around the room and entering the bathroom holding up an device with an antenna holding it close to electrical devices and THREE walked over, picked up the phone, looked at it closely, clicked a button and slipped it into his jacket pocket.

ONE:  "We are here from Security,  We believe you are alone, Mr. Sage.  Are you expecting anyone?"

SAGE:  "Uh, no. Just me. Is everything all right?  I mean, what's going on?"

TWO, addressing ONE:  "Clean.  Laptop off."

ONE:  "Any other phones, Mr. Sage?"

SAGE:  "No. Is there a problem, I mean, what--"

ONE:    "Sit down. We have something to discuss.   There."  He points to the side of the bed.  Sage sits, awkwardly.   The three men stand near him, towering over him.   Sage starts to get up.  "Sit, Mr. Sage."

SAGE:  "Are you hotel security? From the RNC?"

ONE:  "We are private. Don't bother with questions.  I don't know who hired us, and my boss doesn't know who hired us.  I'm the messenger.   I just know I have a problem and you can fix it.   You told our person you were supporting Kasich if he could win, Cruz if you had to.  Not Trump.   Right?

SAGE:  "I mean, what I'm telling people. 'Your person?' Who?"  

ONE:    "You told the lady with the clipboard.  Last night.  Downstairs.  The one that talked about your Facebook. Your blog. Medford.  She was from my employer.   Mr. Sage, we need you to decide that Trump would be OK after all.  First ballot.  Every ballot. She was authorized to offer you money, lots of money.  Said it wouldn't work, you'd be insulted.  That's why we're here.

TWO:  Steps in closer. Grunts a laugh.  "Carrot.  Stick."

ONE:  "See, we think you want to help people, get them out of jams, and I'm in a jam.   You can get me out.  My boss gave me eleven names.  You're 6.  He said we get $25,000 for every person who changes their mind and decides to support Trump, and I have a quota of ten.  If I do it we get $250,000 and I get more jobs.  If I don't, my boss is in serious trouble with his boss, so I'm in trouble.

SAGE: Trying to get up.  "My vote's not for sale, I don't know what's going on here, but--"

TWO:  "Shut up."

ONE:  "Money's off the table.  That was yesterday.  The clipboard lady.  She told us.  Look, this is going to be easy.   You say you've changed your mind, decided Trump is OK.  People change their minds at conventions.  New information."  

SAGE: "I'm really a Kasich--"

ONE:  "Shut up. This isn't a request.  You are going to support Trump because my life depends on it.  My boss expects results.  I only got 11 names.  I can't have more than one of you choke on a sandwich  or hang himself in despair.  It would look suspicious.  So I can't threaten all of you with death.  Lucky you.  You live.  But we know who you are.  Google.   Debra is at home, watching Rachel Maddow, right now, nice house.  Zillow.  Glass walls, very open.  Her car sitting there in the carport.   Dillon is in Ashland, nice Toyota, sensible car you picked out for him. He shouldn't drive wearing headphones though.   You should talk to him.  Debra seems nice.  Do gooder.    Why should they die in a senseless home invasion and traffic accident just because you like Kasich?"

SAGE:  "What? You're threatening to kill them?  Kill them if I don't support Trump?  That's what you are threatening?"

ONE:  "We don't threaten.  We do."

SAGE:  "You'd kill my family?"

ONE:  "Not me.  People would drive up again from San Francisco to do it.  Debra first.  Home invasion is easy.  An accident with a truck would take a day or two to set up.  It would all be done before you get back to your home in Medford.   Nice home.   Guy said the figs are almost ready.

TWO:  "Doing it would come out of our 25.  Bad deal all around."

SAGE:  "You'd really kill people.  If I don't-- "

ONE:   "I'm under the gun.  My boss is under the gun.  Shit runs downhill."

THREE:  "Two minutes."

ONE:  "So let's wrap this up.  This is a matter of life and death for me, and I want to live.  I need ten Trumps, and I want to collect the bonus one if no one has to die in Philly.   I bet Debra and Dillon want to live. Right?   Say it."

SAGE:   "I'm--'

ONE:   "Say they want to live.  Out loud.  Say it."

SAGE:  "Debra wants to live, Dillon, both."

ONE:   "We've done this before.  You're new at this.  You are thinking about the police, right now.  You're thinking you just said anything necessary to make us go away.  You're thinking FBI.  You're thinking escape.  It's OK.  We expect that.  We have guys at the police, friends at the FBI.  The moment you call for help, we know, and we send word to San Francisco.  You hear me?"

SAGE: "No cops."

ONE:   "That's right.  Our message to San Francisco isn't 'go up there and wait to hear.'  It's just 'Do Medford.'   That's it.   No second chances, no call backs, no check ins.   We don't want records at our end.  Just 'Do Medford' and a couple of days later its done.  We make it simple for you.  You want to kill Debra and Dillon, just call the cops, its on you.   Got that?"

SAGE: "OK, I got it."

ONE:   "There.  All you have to do is remember you finally decided on your own to go with Trump and stay with Trump.  No need to explain.  Just say you decided.  Stay decided.  Don't think maybe we don't mean it or we will forget or that you or Debra or Dillon can hide or that the police can do anything.  We're everywhere.   The client sitting in Debra's waiting room?  Might be ours.  That truck on Tolman Road.  It might be waiting for Dillon to pull out.   This is your lucky day. You got to save some lives today.  Debra's, Dillon's.  Mine.   I'm under pressure here, too.  We all got to perform.   Do we understand each other?

SAGE:  "Uh"

ONE:   "I need to hear it.   'Trump, Trump period.'   Say it."

SAGE:  "Trump.  OK.  Do I have a choice?"

ONE:   "You chose right.   You did very well, Mr. Sage.   A good day's work, saved some lives today.  Keep them saved.  Good night."

The three men exit.

SAGE locked the door behind them, turned on his laptop and using Skype called a number.
"Sweetie, hi.   (Pause) Sweetie, something has come up.   Would go to the settings symbol on your phone, the grey gearbox thing, and scroll down and turn off that "Find Your Phone" setting?   (Pause)  Uh, huh.    Yes, Click it to off.  (Pause.)  Yeah, leave it off for now.   (Pause)  I'll explain.  OK, love you."

The screen on his laptop showed Debra's icon blink off.  But another one, marked Peter's I phone, was moving east along a city street.

   (SCENE ENDS)